Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

Moab is laid waste, and they have cast down her cities: and her choice young men are gone down to the slaughter: saith the king, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

Moab is laid waste, and his cities are gone up in smoke, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.

Spoiled is Moab, and her cities hath one gone up, And the choice of its young men Have gone down to slaughter, An affirmation of the King, Jehovah of Hosts is His name.

He who makes Moab waste has gone up against her; and the best of her young men have gone down to their death, says the King, whose name is the Lord of armies.

Moab has been devastated, and they have cut down her cities. And her elect young men have descended to slaughter. So says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

Vastatus est Moab, civitates ejus excidit (alii vertunt, civitates ejus evanuerunt, ut sit mutatio numeri; alii, incola ascendit, vel, discessit ab urbibus ejus,) et electio juvenum descendit (hoc est, electi juvenes; et est allusio ad nomen vchryv, nam vchvrym, dicuntur apud Hebroeos adolescentes, qui sunt in flore oetatis, sed nomen hoc deducitur a vchr, quod est eligere, unde est etiam nomen hoc quo utitur Propheta; electio igitur juvenum, vel, electi juvenes, descenderunt) ad mactationem, dicit Rex, nomen ejus Jehova exercituum (id est, cujus nomen est Jehova exercituum.)

Rather, "Moab is spoiled," and her cities have gone up, i. e., in smoke, have been burned Joshua 8:20-21. Others render, "The waster of Moab and of her towns is coming up to the attack, and her chosen youths are gone down to the slaughter."

Moab is spoiled,.... The whole country is ruined; which is spoken of as present, though future, after the manner of prophecy, because of the certainty of it:
and gone up out of her cities; the inhabitants of Moab were gone up out of their cities, either through fear and flight; or through force, being made to go out of them, and were carried captive. The Targum is,
"the Moabites are spoiled, and their cities are desolate;''
and so Kimchi interprets it,
"the multitude of her cities is made to cease;''
the people of them. It might be as well rendered, "and he is gone up to her cities" (u); that is, the spoiler (w), as Kimchi's father rightly interprets it; see Jeremiah 48:8; or it may be rendered, "and his cities, into which he went up" (x); that is, those are spoiled and destroyed, into which the Moabites used to go up, being built on high places; or whither they went for safety, the enemy being in their country, but in vain:
and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter; or, "the choice of his chosen ones" (y); the select of them, for comeliness, strength, and valour; these being taken, when the enemy entered the cities, were had down to some place of slaughter, and there put to death; or were brought down to the grave, the pit of corruption; unless this can be understood of the choice young men of the enemy, the Chaldean army; who, mounting and scaling the walls of the cities of Moab, went down into them to slay the inhabitants of them; but this is submitted to consideration. All this was not barely said by the prophet, who was but a man, though sent of God; but by the Lord himself, as it follows:
saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts; who is "the King" by way of eminency; the King of kings, and Lord of lords; mightier than the king of Moab, or even than the king of Babylon; and the Lord of greater armies than either; and therefore what he said should certainly be accomplished.
(u) "et civitates ejus conscendit", Montanus; "ascendit super urbes ejus", Gataker. (w) "Sub. hostis", Vatablus, Calvin; "vastator", Gataker. (x) "Et urbes ejus in quas ascendit", Schmidt. (y) "electio electorum ejus", Gataker.

gone up . . . gone down--in antithesis.
out of her cities--Rather, "Moab . . . and her cities are gone up," namely, pass away in the ascending smoke of their conflagration (Joshua 8:20-21; Judges 20:40). When this took place, the young warriors would go down from the burning citadels only to meet their own slaughter [GROTIUS]. English Version is somewhat favored by the fact that "gone out" is singular, and "cities" plural. The antithesis favors GROTIUS.